Daredevil #11 Review

Written by: Chip Zdarsky
Art by: Rafael De Latorre
Colors by: Matthew Wilson
Letters by: Clayton Cowles
Cover art by: Marco Checchetto, Matthew Wilson
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: May 10, 2023

Daredevil #11 finds Matt Murdock forced to accept that his friends are either dead or in prison and his grand experiment with the Fist has failed. When a Daredevil has nothing left to lose outside himself, there’s only one deal left to make.

Is It Good?

I’ll give Chip Zdarsky a heap of credit. Between Daredevil #11 and Zdarsky’s run on Batman, Chip is showing he isn’t afraid to get rough with his characters in (semi) permanent ways. Zdarsky’s stories may not be the best since sliced bread, but at least he’s pushing the characters forward. Whether for better or worse remains to be seen.

When last we left Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil, his life went to Hell (ahem). The Fist training island went up in flames. Foggy and Stick were revealed to be dead. Many of the First recruits died, and others, including Elektra, are in prison. Now, Matt receives a swift kick in the pants from Cole to get up and get out there to set things right.

Does Daredevil set things right? For Elektra and his friends in prison, yes. How? Without spoiling it, Daredevil pays the Stromwyns a visit and makes a deal that gives the Biblical phrase “an eye for an eye” a whole new meaning.

Again, the big positive of this issue is Zdarsky’s willingness to get rough. Not for its own sake but to push characters forward. It makes sense that mortal heroes like Batman and Daredevil would eventually get more than scrapes, breaks, and bruises as a consequence of their respective missions. Arguably, Dardevil’s “change” won’t affect him as much as most folks, but it’s a shocking development regardless.

As for the rest, this issue feels like a finale. Perhaps it will serve as a bridge issue to something else. Either way, Zdarsky appears to be putting an early cap on his runs without an official word he’s leaving. Why? Who knows, but if Zdarsky keeps pushing limits, the future potential is bright.

How’s the art? De Latorre and Wilson are doing the Lord’s work with this issue. The camera angles are visually interesting, the gore is impactful yet tasteful, and the coloring work is brilliant.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Bits and Pieces

Daredevil #11 puts a cap on Daredevil’s failed reign as leader of the Fist with a cooldown issue that’s light on action but heavy on drama, consequences, and pain. Zdarsky earns big bonus points for pushing the characters to new places in their canon, and the art is gorgeous.